Horse Glue Factory: Frist Post versus Meaty Post

July 13, 2010 7:55 AM

I hate to get sidetracked but I find it interesting that there will always be two sides when it comes to this issue of how one should post on this site. Link heavy or light? Get the info out there quickly so discussion can occur, or wait and find as many links as possible and provide more for the posting. We should always be striving for the latter.

While I have often championed the value-add that community brings to posts, and certainly we have had tons of posts where the comments themselves have made the post worth having, the usual mantra for MeFi posts are thick, meaty posts, chock full of effort and/or links. Doesn't have to be 500 links, but 5 links with a more inside and a narration is a heckuva lot better than 2 links to news sites.

I wanted to throw this out because the Steinbrenner thread is going to be chock full of Obit/Not Obit debate, and, well, it looks like that's the post that's going to stay so let's have the pants party in here.

PS: I thought the guidelines said more about meaty posts? Maybe we need an enhancement there?

posted by cavalier to Etiquette/Policy at 7:55 AM (90 comments total)

Would help if I linked the thread the comment originated from, wouldn't it?
posted by cavalier at 7:59 AM on July 13, 2010

The FAQ says this

Can I post a link to CNN if there's a breaking news story that doesn't have a permalink yet?

There are very rare cases where this is appropriate, usually large scale disasters (like once-in-a-lifetime events). Updates to the latest political intrigue do not qualify. Generally speaking, if a breaking story isn't linked on the Internet yet, it won't make a very good post. If you're posting it thinking, "I'd better hurry before someone else posts this" — then it's probably not a good post.

I emailed with the OP and sort of clarified things, but there are always going to be people who aren't real clear on the guidelines. So, to be clear: we don't see this site as a place where the top headlines need to be, though there is a lot of news that people think is worthwhile to put on the front page. So, try to make a good post, not a speedy post. Also trust that if you don't have the time to make a decent post, someone else in the community probably will.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:00 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm not a huge fan of quick but thin obit threads, but I am even less of a fan of 'Needs more links!' 'No it doesn't! 'Yes, it does!' 'Yo mama!' in quick but thin obit threads. This is a perpetual issue on MetaFilter, and I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon.
posted by dirtdirt at 8:02 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

All posts should be like this one.

metafilter should just hire filthy light thief to be the official obit writer. All others get removed. Problem solved. Throw a harder one at me next time.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:03 AM on July 13, 2010 [4 favorites]

With all due respect to the recently deceased, an obit post made today will usually never be as good as one made the following day. The subject will still be dead, more news will have come out, and there will be more time to find better links. Waiting a day will also give you a chance to change your mind about posting it in the first place.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:06 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

That thread is a mess.

He's dead!
No he's not!
Yes he is.
It's not confirmed!
Oh, ok, he's dead.
Can someone update my links?
posted by cjorgensen at 8:09 AM on July 13, 2010

I flagged that immediately, because I figured it was 75% that "massive heart attack" = "death". I was hoping the mods could delete it before it got a lot of comments or it was confirmed, but it didn't happen.

And now we have an obit post that is a complete mess.

I still think it should be nuked, to be honest.
posted by smackfu at 8:09 AM on July 13, 2010

Maybe obit posts should only be allowed to be posted at least 24 hours after the subject's passing.
posted by hermitosis at 8:11 AM on July 13, 2010 [12 favorites]

Neat, but how would we enforce that? Mods just deleting obit posts over and over till 24 hours passes? While it would be awesome to have an "internet mortuary" (imagine the gifs!), I think it would just drive the mod squad nuts as five folks would go "omg can't believe no one posted!"
posted by cavalier at 8:14 AM on July 13, 2010

I would be down with hermitosis' suggestion.

I would also, however, be down with murdering anyone who posts a crappy obit thread, so... take that how you will, I guess.
posted by shmegegge at 8:16 AM on July 13, 2010

Waiting a day will also give you a chance to change your mind about posting it in the first place.

Yeah, but we can all understand the urge to get it posted. It's nerve wracking! You work hard on what you hope is a deep post with many links and inevitably begin to develop a concern that someone's going to post a single youtube link that will make it for naught.

I went through this when I put an obit post about Robert Culp together. I took my time and waited until I thought the post was decent... but after a while I found I had to stifle the urge to reflexively check the front page every five minutes. At the time I did realize that people probably weren't feverishly compiling their own posts about him. But still, that concern instills a sense of urgency.
posted by zarq at 8:16 AM on July 13, 2010

I agree with smackfu and hermitisis. At minimum all posts with an obit tag should hit a moderation queue. This is coming from someone that made a shitty obit post.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:18 AM on July 13, 2010

Mods just deleting obit posts over and over till 24 hours passes?

Are you kidding? No. We deleted four James Brown posts and I think and equal number of Michael Jackson posts just because they were doubles. This is not a problem that is going to have a technological solution and it's not a problem that's going to have a "we need a new rule" solution, in my opinion. While I agree that this is not an optimal situation, I think it evolves over time. We probably need to make it clearer in the FAQ how we deal with obits and breaking news, but you guys have to sort of manage the "OMG FRIST" thing that happens by waiting to make better obits, or accepting the health crisis/obit posts that happen. No one is stopping someone from going into that thread and doing a nice Steinbrenner write-up.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:18 AM on July 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

Not that any normative conclusions should be drawn from this, but at least it (probably) speaks to the success of the community that so many of us come here first to talk about the latest news.
posted by Beardman at 8:19 AM on July 13, 2010

All posts should be like this one.

IMO, that post reads more like link/intellectual masturbation. Everyone of those links is vital to the post, none could be cut, not a single one, and still have a great post? Remember the 'Filter' part of Metafilter!
posted by new brand day at 8:19 AM on July 13, 2010

I would also, however, be down with murdering anyone who posts a crappy obit thread, so... take that how you will, I guess.

Yes, but suddenly it's a bloodbath.

* Person posts crappy obit post.
* Post is nuked by mods. "Deletion reason: Wow, that was stunningly bad. Can anyone do better?"
* The MeFi Hit Squad™ kills the OP
* Random Mefite posts rambling tribute containing a single youtube video of original OP doing the funky chicken at a Gallagher concert.
* Post is nuked by mods. "Deletion reason: There is no MeFi Hit Squad™. Also, funky chicken posts don't go well here."
* The MeFi Hit Squad™ kills the Second OP
* Third OP posts a link to the Second OP's MeFi profile.

...and so on and so forth...
posted by zarq at 8:22 AM on July 13, 2010

Could someone put up a link to the post being discussed? The first one cavalier posted is taking me to a blank page. I'm lost...
posted by thankyouforyourconsideration at 8:22 AM on July 13, 2010

Are you kidding? No.

Sorry - thought the tongue in cheek there was obvious. :D
posted by cavalier at 8:23 AM on July 13, 2010

There are plenty of posts, really no shortage at all. The standard should be how terrific the links are, not how many. For major events, there will be a post. The better that post is, the more likely the discussion will be interesting. If in doubt, don't post.
posted by theora55 at 8:27 AM on July 13, 2010

There are two different kinds of obit threads: The long, detailed threads about someone notable who has passed away, a few days after the death and "OMG, Michael Jackson iz DED!" Both, to me, are acceptable, and have their own value. Sometimes, the shock is so immediate that a bit of shirt-rending is needed. Both are made better by the anecdotes and extra links inside.

Another way to put this: every death is grieved differently. Trying to apply a standard is foolhardy. But we are a community. And communities grieve together.
posted by ColdChef at 8:28 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Could someone put up a link to the post being discussed? The first one cavalier posted is taking me to a blank page. I'm lost...

Steinbrenner Dies
posted by zarq at 8:29 AM on July 13, 2010

I realize that my opinions are not popular and are, in fact, contrary to what the moderators prefer. I'm okay with that.
posted by ColdChef at 8:30 AM on July 13, 2010

The subject will still be dead

I suppose that is usually true, given standard circumstances, yes.
posted by Meatbomb at 8:33 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

Fixed cavalier's first-comment link up there.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:36 AM on July 13, 2010

I realize that my opinions are not popular and are, in fact, contrary to what the moderators prefer. I'm okay with that.

We're not actually against it per se. It's just more that we'd like the community generally to understnad why the different types of posts get made, to be okay with a little bit of variation and to not destroy what they think is a substandard post with a bunch of bitching. Really, if we'd both been awake and fully tracking and realized that Steinbrenner was dead not just ailing, we probably would have just pulled that post under the "this isn't really great, can someone make a good obit post" guideline we've been using more recently [as opposed to "first post stays" which was our previous guideline] but people were already in with the dots and the talking about it, so we figured the least harmful path was to leave it up. A longer "remembering Steinbrenner" post summing up obits and other stuff in a few days would not be so terrible.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:39 AM on July 13, 2010

Another way to put this: every death is grieved differently. Trying to apply a standard is foolhardy.

I was originally on the other side of this argument, but ColdChef is right. Putting a note in the FAQ won't really stop anyone except people who regularly keep up with the FAQ, and maybe not even them. It's more of a "put a rule there so we have something to reference when we kill the post" measure.

Great links in the original post are, of course, always preferred. But Steinbrenner was enough of a public figure that a knee-jerk post could draw in enough comments to provide some good additional content.

Think about it this way: someone takes three hours to craft a post with links upon links, touching on every aspect of someone's life. The comments in such a thread have nothing to add but "." and "oh crap, that's too bad. I remember that guy." Meanwhile, someone throws up a post that's a little thin on linkage, and the commenters (those who don't shit on the thinness of the thread) have more opportunities to contribute. I think there's room in the world for both types of post and that the latter, while not optimal, ultimately isn't that bad.
posted by moviehawk at 8:39 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

When this guy dies it will actually be a Frist obit post.
posted by ob at 8:40 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

I've only been on this site for a few years and I have only submitted a handful of posts. The reason I posted this particular bit of news is that I've seen many other "death/obit" posts. As has been discussed up above there are two different views and there is a grey area when it comes to that FAQ. Maybe if this was enforced a bit more then a post like mine would not be up right now. And that's fine, but it seems that you either enforce this hard rule or you do not. I have seen many posts similar to mine and so I guess it stands.
posted by Fizz at 8:42 AM on July 13, 2010

I would also, however, be down with murdering anyone who posts a crappy obit thread

Well, thanks for the love!

Careful, I shoot back....
posted by Confess, Fletch at 8:43 AM on July 13, 2010

> I realize that my opinions are not popular

I agree with you.

> the usual mantra for MeFi posts are thick, meaty posts, chock full of effort and/or links

I absolutely disagree with this; in fact, I hate it with a fiery passion. What that attitude leads to is people padding out what would have been a perfectly good little post with a bunch of useless links (hello, Wikipedia!) because they're afraid of getting accused of a "single-link post." THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH A SINGLE-LINK POST. If you find a good link out there, post the fucker. I've got your back.
posted by languagehat at 8:44 AM on July 13, 2010 [38 favorites]

There is one thing about the single link post that redeems it: it's impossible to bury the lede. I can't count how many times someone has tried to puff up their post with a bunch of extraneous crap because they thought that that's how MetaFilter posts had to be done, when all they really accomplished was to obfuscate the point of the post by putting the main link at the end of the post -- or worse, on rare occasion it's in the [more inside]. If the first links encountered when reading your post go to Wikipedia or IMDB or other background sources, then you have failed.
posted by Rhomboid at 8:45 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

the usual mantra for MeFi posts are thick, meaty posts, chock full of effort and/or links.

While I agree with this for obit posts, I heartily disagree for more general posting guidelines. I have seen many amusing or informative links suffocated by unneeded padding. There is nothing wrong (and quite a bit right) with single link posts.
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:46 AM on July 13, 2010

Oh look. I agree with languagehat. I hate it when that happens.
posted by CunningLinguist at 8:46 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

Aw, and/or! and/or! A GOOD link, single on its own, would take some merit of effort to produce. Granted it might have fallen into your lap through social/RSS Circles, but you'd still evaluate it, make a judgement, post it, what have you.
posted by cavalier at 8:47 AM on July 13, 2010

It's also worth mentioning that for whatever reason, obit posts are often people's first posts to MeFi. That is, we see all the first posts in our email and an awful lot of them are people's first posts to the site. I think it's because if the person was notable enough, people don't have to stress out about "Is this okay for the community?" which people do a lot of the time, for whatever reason. So these are sometimes training posts that help people get more involved in the community and they're not bad because there is a bit of a standard way that they go. Often I think we just get MeTa threads about obit posts when a lot of people have died in a week [Pekar, Tuli and Steinbrenner] because there is more of a feeling of how obit posts "should" go than your average MeFi post.

And yes, single-link posts can be fine. As we are discussing in a different thread, however, there are definitely single-link posts that can be ungreat [often newsy or serious GYOBish stuff or mystery "why did you post this?" YouTube stuff] so it's just worth trying to make great posts and not counting links.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:48 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

What languagehat said. Whatever peculiar policy we might adopt for obit posts in particular, there is no generalized requirement that you lard up your main link with a bunch of filler. If you do have a variety of interesting links on the subject, then great, but it's not obligatory.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 8:50 AM on July 13, 2010

The Steinbrenner post said all it needed to say at the time it was posted. Updates were posted inside as the news broke. If you want fancy biographical links, post them yourself as a comment.
posted by rocket88 at 8:51 AM on July 13, 2010

The emergence of the giant, multi-link post is something I noticed after coming back from my hiatus. Metafilter used have more "look at this cool thing" posts. No more than a single link required. I suppose in the age of instant Re-Tweets and Facebook sharing the neat stuff gets around so fast that people want a little more substance (or padding) in their posts.
posted by JoanArkham at 8:53 AM on July 13, 2010

I agree with Langaugehat, too. Some posters simply overwhelm a topic. To me, the best posts let the content speak for itself. With the MegaPost, the poster is calling attention to their own work. I don't need a link to each Wikipedia page on each of your favorite band's albums for the past 20 years.

5% of the time, they're gilding a lily; 95% of the time, they're just polishing a turd.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:54 AM on July 13, 2010

I just wanted to shout Hallelujah! in response to languagehat's comment. The man is right on.
posted by .kobayashi. at 8:55 AM on July 13, 2010

No one is stopping someone from going into that thread and doing a nice Steinbrenner write-up.

I agree. I mean unless it's about getting your name on the front page, it shouldn't matter where you post your information.
posted by Sailormom at 8:55 AM on July 13, 2010

I've been a member since 2008 and I've submitted 42 posts and maybe I'm just an idiot but I still don't have a handle on this place. There are so many social rules and codes and everyone has an opinion on them. It's hard to know if you're making an ass of yourself or not. Even if you're not, someone will inevitably tell you that you are.

Only solution is to post and comment and try to create intelligent healthy discussion. I'll say this, I'm going to reconsider ever posting an obit. Of the 42 posts I've made, this is the first one of this type. Cheers.
posted by Fizz at 8:57 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

the usual mantra for MeFi posts are thick, meaty posts, chock full of effort and/or links.

Good Christ, No!

All posts should be like this one.

Good Christ, Hell No!
posted by dobbs at 9:00 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

The easy solution is to require all living people to keep on updated obit FPP ready to go.
posted by mullacc at 9:03 AM on July 13, 2010

My rule of thumb is, if I find a site that looks interesting I will post a link to it. If it fulfills that criteria well enough, it needs no other links to help it limp along.

I'm old enough to remember when MOST of the posts here were single links.

I will leave obitfilter to the rest of you.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 9:10 AM on July 13, 2010

Even in death, the bastard is still fomenting discord.
posted by Joe Beese at 9:12 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

I'm old enough to remember when MOST of the posts here were single links.

Exactly. Oh, the days when MetaFilter was about, "Look at this interesting thing on the web" and not "Look how smart I am! Please eat from my tree of knowledge!"
posted by dobbs at 9:21 AM on July 13, 2010 [3 favorites]

The easy solution is to require all living people to keep on updated obit FPP ready to go.

I have a comprehensive and complicated set of Google Alerts set up which when the correct news hits the wire, run a script that automatically posts an FPP with my pre-prepared 14 paragraph obitfilters.

Currently, ready to go, I have:

1. Every still-living member of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Guns n Roses, Hanson, Blur and Mumford & Sons.
2. Every living artist that has ever released anything on Warp and/or SubPop
3. That guy that wrote Maus
4. 5th in line (and higher) to the thrones of UK, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Togo and Tonga
5. Any politician who, at some point in the past, have been referred to as a "Terrorist"
6. The last survivor of the D-Day landings (having to make some serious assumptions with this one)

Just bidin' my time...
posted by jontyjago at 9:27 AM on July 13, 2010

I've been a member since 2008 and I've submitted 42 posts and maybe I'm just an idiot but I still don't have a handle on this place.

This would be funny if it weren't true. I have some crap posts in my posting history. I got better. Some of the posts I think are good got some major call outs. At least one got deleted. Some of the iffy ones had good commentary and people seemed to like them. One or two I am proud of, some I wouldn't do again, and a few I wish I'd either done or done differently.

I honestly expect to never get a handle on it. I just hope to be a bit less confused every time I post (and hope for the best).

FWIW I don't plan to post any more samedayobitfilter posts either.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:28 AM on July 13, 2010

I've only had a few doubles deleted, and one I requested deletion on since it turned out the link was hosting copyrighted music. It takes a bit of effort to step outside and look at your post with objective eyes, but it's really not that mysterious.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:31 AM on July 13, 2010

All posts should be like this one.

Really? Those kind of posts make me think they should just go update Wikipedia.
posted by smackfu at 9:32 AM on July 13, 2010

Oh, the days when MetaFilter was about, "Look at this interesting thing on the web" and not "Look how smart I am! Please eat from my tree of knowledge!"

Well, you go far enough back, and there were basically no standards at all, and "interesting things" could be "look at the front page of CNN.com".
posted by smackfu at 9:35 AM on July 13, 2010

Exactly. Oh, the days when MetaFilter was about, "Look at this interesting thing on the web" and not "Look how smart I am! Please eat from my tree of knowledge!"

I've posted a few linksfests. Put one up today, as a matter of fact.

FWIW, I don't do 'em as an ego boost or to prove anything. They're posted because I want to share something I found interesting with the community. If I can help tell an interesting or quirky story while doing so, all the better.
posted by zarq at 9:42 AM on July 13, 2010

I'm fine with either style so long as the threadshitters get hit with a big hammer.
posted by Artw at 9:43 AM on July 13, 2010

Or Fark. Or Fark again.

Or the Onion. Or the Onion. Or the Onion. Or the Onion.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:43 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

I've done a quick count, folks, and determined there have now been more metatalk posts about obit posts than there have been obit posts...
posted by HuronBob at 9:45 AM on July 13, 2010

That means we will never die!
posted by Artw at 9:45 AM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

...but it's really not that mysterious.

I wasn't saying this, and won't put words in Fizz's mouth, but I meant people's reactions to any particular post is a crapshoot that takes in so many elements that sometimes it's a bit problematic.

Time of day posts, frequency of related links, topic-that-does-not-go-well, who posted it, first comment out gate is a threadshit, etc.

You can only put it out there and walk away or not put it out there. Use your best judgement on whether it will make a good post. You can't control how people will treat it. You also can't predict it.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:51 AM on July 13, 2010

Don't forget "shitting on sports threads"!
posted by smackfu at 9:51 AM on July 13, 2010

I'm totally for complaining that the Steinbrenner post wasn't deleted PRONTO and was about to make a MeTa post about it myself, because the way THIS post was presented was totally UNclear what it was about. Way to ruin my morning, MetaFilter.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:53 AM on July 13, 2010

People complaining about the awesome multi-link FPPs that've been (seemingly) coming around more often lately?

Christ! What assholes!
posted by jtron at 11:19 AM on July 13, 2010

I'm going to reconsider ever posting an obit.

Except, you posted that "he had a heart attack," which isn't even close to an obit.
There is no rush, people.
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:28 AM on July 13, 2010

Single link posts? Hell No!!!
posted by unliteral at 11:36 AM on July 13, 2010

If one of the mods dies, would that obit post go on the blue or grey? I'm pretty sure mathowie makes the blue. Probably jessamyn too. But I'd probably flag a cortex obit thread if it was on the blue.
posted by mullacc at 11:53 AM on July 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

mullacc: Projects, most likely, right?
posted by .kobayashi. at 11:56 AM on July 13, 2010

I would find someway to compose a satirical song about it and post it to Music posthumously.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:58 AM on July 13, 2010

See, now this is just wankery.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 12:18 PM on July 13, 2010

Technically, cortex's funeral would be my project, not his.
posted by ColdChef at 12:20 PM on July 13, 2010 [6 favorites]

Hey guys, this is my first trip to hell, any MeFites in the area who want to have a meetup? Third Circle preferred but I can travel if necessary. [more inside]
posted by enn to MetaFilter Gatherings at 2:25 PM



posted by enn at 12:24 PM on July 13, 2010

Oh, man, and it's impossible to get the people from the fifth circle to show up to a meetup in four or six, if you try they'll just whine about the commute and spend the night laying under the murky waters of the Styx again and then complain in drowned burbles about how "there's never anything nearby".
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:42 PM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

here's your handbasket, what's your hurry?
posted by .kobayashi. at 12:43 PM on July 13, 2010

See? this is why I never post anything to the blue, I fear anything I post will be wrong...
posted by patheral at 3:32 PM on July 13, 2010

Such is the evil of the threadshitters.
posted by Artw at 3:38 PM on July 13, 2010

I've had some amazing posts, and then I've had some spectacular failures. Not sure what today's falls under. Mefi is constantly changing and so too the rules and social codes and expectations.
posted by Fizz at 3:39 PM on July 13, 2010

I've had some amazing posts, and then I've had some spectacular failures. Not sure what today's falls under.

Why not call it a draw? :)

Thanks for letting me know about Steinbrenner. Your post was my first indication that he was dying.
posted by zarq at 3:47 PM on July 13, 2010

See, now this is just wankery.

Well, the second link in the post is, anyway.
posted by dersins at 4:11 PM on July 13, 2010

What pisses me off about obit filter is that on any given day there are probably two dozen note-worthy people who kick the bucket. MeFi could easily be nothing but obits — hell, today alone we've got three fucking obits on the front page.

A return back to the odd, insightful, and "best" categories of post would be nice.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:47 PM on July 13, 2010

MeFi could easily be nothing but obits — hell, today alone we've got three fucking obits on the front page. A return back to the odd, insightful, and "best" categories of post would be nice.

Today's count:

Three obit posts out of Twenty-Six total posts.

(So far -- the night is young!)

I fail to understand how anyone could possibly be unable to ignore those 3 and focus on the remaining 23? Seriously, what is it about those obit posts that makes the others unreadable?
posted by zarq at 4:58 PM on July 13, 2010

So Bill Frist died?
posted by cjorgensen at 5:23 PM on July 13, 2010

I've been a member since 2008 and I've submitted 42 posts

Six of those have been in the last week. Maybe you're on vacation or whatever, but you don't need to single handedly keep the site going.
posted by ecurtz at 5:48 PM on July 13, 2010

...you don't need to single handedly keep the site going.

Yeah, that's pb's job!
posted by cjorgensen at 5:54 PM on July 13, 2010

Why does pb only use one hand?

Oh. I see.
posted by ColdChef at 6:26 PM on July 13, 2010

Why does pb only use one hand?

MeFap?






Apologies, pb. I couldn't resist the pun.
posted by zarq at 7:11 PM on July 13, 2010

Ok, to prevent this problem from manifesting in the future, the only real solution is to do as the newspapers do and pre-write our obituary posts. I call Donald Rumsfeld.
posted by kaibutsu at 8:43 PM on July 13, 2010

Beardman: "Not that any normative conclusions should be drawn from this, but at least it (probably) speaks to the success of the community that so many of us come here first to talk about the latest news."

Totally off-topic, but I recently saw a stupid "methane bubble" article going around on Twitter and I kept looking for it on the Blue because I wanted Mefites to tell me it wasn't accurate.
posted by IndigoRain at 10:16 PM on July 13, 2010

If you haven't figured out by now, MeFiers have strong opinions on everything and those opinions often clash:

LadyGagaFilter
NewsFilter
ChatFilter
Single Links
Favorites
Deletions
Punctuation and Grammar
Editing

There will always be one member at least who agrees with you and at least one who disagrees.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:05 AM on July 14, 2010

Maybe obit posts should only be allowed to be posted at least 24 hours after the subject's passing.

Unless its a zombie death. Then you'd have to wait like forever.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:31 AM on July 14, 2010

I've had some amazing posts, and then I've had some spectacular failures. Not sure what today's falls under. Mefi is constantly changing and so too the rules and social codes and expectations.

My first and only obit post was "Mike Douglass, dead." A link to the CNN story. Nothing else. That post didn't meet with the same vitriol that some of the newer obituary posts are getting. Man, when I look at it now, I could have been stomped like Obama at a Tea Party rally. So yes, Mefi expectations, codes, etc,. are a constantly changing beast.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 7:42 AM on July 14, 2010

I kept looking for it on the Blue because I wanted Mefites to tell me it wasn't accurate.

I kept hoping it would not hit the Blue because then I might have to worry that it was accurate.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:52 AM on July 14, 2010

Fizz: "...maybe I'm just an idiot but I still don't have a handle on this place. There are so many social rules and codes and everyone has an opinion on them. It's hard to know if you're making an ass of yourself or not. Even if you're not, someone will inevitably tell you that you are."

(wow, tried to italicize Fizz's quote and all this gook showed up - sorry).

I feel the same way, Fizz. I've only posted once and it turns out that my link was to a NYT article that needed registration after it had been up for a day. I got a bit chastised for that, which was fine - I deserved it. Live and learn, I guess.

But I know what you mean. Like the alphabet soup (GRAR?) and code words (Hamburger?).

I refrain from posting on the blue page because sometimes I'm not sure if it will go over well, despite having read the FAQs many times. I post on AskMe a lot more.
posted by mnb64 at 10:57 AM on July 16, 2010